


Magnetized, I'm Drawn to You

by saranghaja



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Valentine's Day, communal showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23666176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saranghaja/pseuds/saranghaja
Summary: Baekhyun falls for the guy with the angelic voice in the shower stall next to his, affectionately nicknamed Communal Shower Guy. He doesn't expect Communal Shower Guy to fall for him too. Literally.a very late baeksoo Valentine's Day fic
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O
Comments: 18
Kudos: 114





	Magnetized, I'm Drawn to You

It's close to midnight when Baekhyun stumbles into the communal showers, slightly drunk.

The bathroom is shared among the entire floor, but thankfully, it's completely empty despite it being a Friday night. Probably because everyone is at the dorm party downstairs. The party is supposed to be alcohol-free, but when it comes to booze, college students take it as a challenge.

With as much coordination as his brain can afford, Baekhyun strips and jumps into a cold shower. It sobers him up a little, and that's when he realizes that there is someone else in the shower next to his.

If Baekhyun didn't believe in angels before, he does now.

The most beautiful sound he's ever heard fills his ears. A choir of angels. A harp concerto. The auditory equivalent of honey sliding down one's throat.

The voice is soft, like it's trying not to be heard. Baekhyun can barely hear over the sound of the rushing water, but he can sort of make out the melody. It's an R&B song he's heard before but doesn't know the name of. 

He continues standing there, stark naked and freezing as he strains his ears to hear better. It takes a moment for his inebriated mind to catch up. He feels silly for not realizing sooner that he can just shut off the water so that he can listen to his shower angel sing better.

As soon as he does, the singing stops. His shower neighbor must have remembered that he isn't alone in the dorm bathroom, which, Baekhyun is surprised to note, has pretty good acoustics.

Baekhyun curses himself for the misstep. The part of his brain responsible for his flair for the dramatic wails internally. A life where he never hears that melodic voice again is not the one that he wants to live, he thinks solemnly. He steels his resolve, mentally preparing himself to go over to the next shower stall to introduce himself and maybe offer to bear his bathroom beau's offspring when he hears the other shower shut off.

Right. This is a bathroom. Doing that would be incredible inappropriate and grounds for a lawsuit or something. Not to mention, Baekhyun's mind is still slightly muddled from the alcohol, and he doesn't trust his brain-to-mouth filter in his current state.

Cold water drips from the tips of his hair and down his back, and that's when he remembers that he walked into the shower empty-handed, no change of clothes or even a towel. He hears the drawing of the shower curtain from one stall over, and the soft padding of slippers as the love of his life walks out ( _of my life, forever,_ Baekhyun thinks dramatically). He stares at his rumpled day-old clothes, sighs and starts getting dressed.

He lets the melody play in his head over and over, until he has it committed to memory.

* * *

The next day, Baekhyun recounts the fateful encounter to Jongin, his current, and begs for his help.

Jongin rubs his chin. It's still pretty early in the morning and Jongin doesn't have his contacts in yet, so he's merely squinting in the general direction of Baekhyun's bed when he speaks. "You want me to help you find this Communal Shower Guy so you can propose to him and adopt at least three puppies with him?"

Baekhyun can hear the dubiousness in Jongin's voice and he flushes in indignation. "That was an exaggeration; you know what I meant!" He pouts, even though he knows Jongin can barely see his face. "And don't just call him Communal Shower Guy, it makes me feel like I'm a perverted creep."

"Okay, do you at least know his name?" Jongin asks.

A pause. "No."

"Do you know what he looks like?"

"No," Baekhyun replies sullenly. "In my defense, I did not want to peep on a naked dude while being naked myself."

Jongin is definitely judging him now. "Do you know _anything_ about this guy?"

Baekhyun tries to remember every single detail from last night. "He showers at midnight. He likes R&B. I don't think he was at the party last night, I'm pretty sure I talked to everyone who was there. He lives on this floor. He sings like an angel. He's probably the reincarnation of Apollo-"

"Okay, that's enough," Jongin cuts in. He sighs and ruffles his bed head, which only makes it worse. "That doesn't really narrow anything down, besides the fact that he lives on this floor. It's okay, I'll help you."

"Really?" Baekhyun says, hope lifting his chest.

"Yeah." Jongin nods. "I'll keep my eyes peeled for... R&B fans who take late night showers?"

The questioning lilt at the end extinguishes any real expectations Baekhyun had. No matter, he comforts himself. At least he knows what Communal Shower Guy sounds like, and he can't imagine himself ever forgetting it.

For the whole of next week, Baekhyun resorts to eavesdropping on as many conversations as he can whenever he's in any public space on campus in hopes of hearing that voice again. It's like a very frustrating game of Where's Waldo, except he has to strain his ears instead of his eyes. Also, he's so focused on tuning in to other people's mundane conversations that he's always zoned out whenever someone tries talking to him, which usually ends with people snapping their fingers in front of his face to get his attention or just storming off. Baekhyun doesn't know how many people he's pissed off so far, but the silver lining is that he's up to date on campus gossip.

He even begins to pen sad poetry at night. Jongin tells him he's being overly dramatic, but Baekhyun just stares out the window like he's in a music video and says, "I'm a literature major," like it's a logical explanation, to which Jongin retorts, "That doesn't even make sense!"

Thursday night, aka officially Day 7 since his crush began, he's waxing poetic about Communal Shower Guy's high notes to Jongin as per usual. It has become a nightly routine, much to Jongin's dismay, but oddly, Jongin isn't protesting or rolling his eyes today. At this point, Baekhyun's known Jongin long enough to know that whenever his roommate is being uncharacteristically nice to him, it's because he wants something. Most of the time, it's a small favor like borrowing his Kindle or something, which Baekhyun is okay with.

"Hey, Baekhyun, Jennie is thinking of coming over tomorrow...?" Jongin starts hesitantly, as soon as Baekhyun's spiel about vibrato control comes to an end. 

Ah, Jennie. Jongin's high school girlfriend, who goes to a different college, comes over to visit every now and then. Baekhyun knows what Jongin is asking. Well, Jongin has been pretty patient with his lovesick self all week, it would only be fair to do this for him. He sighs and relents. "Okay, fine. How long do you need?"

"We'll be gone by midnight," Jongin promises. "She's driving us home for the weekend."

Baekhyun nods. At least he'll get the whole room to himself for the weekend, which makes it a pretty sweet deal. "Just leave the windows open and air out the room before you leave."

* * *

Baekhyun's no stranger to getting sexiled. Last semester, he roomed with a guy named Mark has probably slept with one third of the entire student body. Baekhyun appreciates sex as much as the next person, but it was no fun when he was getting kicked out of his own dorm room two, three nights a week. 

At least, Jongin is pretty punctual about things so far. Having learned from his past experiences, he made sure to lay down strict boundaries with Jongin when they first moved in together. They agreed on a no overnight rule, so all guests, whether romantic, sexual or platonic, have to leave before either of them go to bed. This way, Baekhyun doesn't have to go searching for someone's floor to sleep on on nights he can't go return to his room.

After having dinner with his friends, he goes back to the dorm building. This time, with his earphones and the required reading for his Shakespearean Literature class in his backpack, he curls up in the study lounge to pass time. His productivity is through the roof today, because it's only 10.30 p.m. by time he's done reading and taking notes.

Baekhyun didn't bring any other homework with him, so he is left without anything to except to stare blankly at a wall. However, doing that puts him at risk of falling asleep, and if that happens, it's more than guaranteed he'll wake up with a crick in his neck and all his valuables gone from his pockets. He considers his options. It's early but not _that_ early, so there's a chance that Jongin and Jennie have already left. His best course of action is to go back to his room and hope that his roommate and his girlfriend aren't there anymore.

As his luck would have it, even before Baekhyun approaches the room, he can see light spill out from the gap between the floor and the door onto the hallway. Damn, they're still here. Oh well, it's either staring at a wall in the study lounge or staring at a wall in the hallway outside his room, and Baekhyun picks the latter. At least he'd know immediately when Jongin leaves and he can go in. He makes sure to put his earphones in and turn up the volume before walking towards his room, in case he hears... _noises_ , coming from inside.

He leans against the wall and slides down until his butt lands on the carpeted floor. He stretches out his legs in front of him, the soles of his sneakers brushing against the opposite wall. In order to get to the dorm bathroom, people would have to pass through his hallway, which is both a good thing and a bad thing, all things considered The good thing is that he can take note of the other residents on his floor (not that he knows what Communal Shower Guy looks like, anyway), and the bad thing is that he has to retract his legs every time someone wants to pass through, as if his legs are some kind of retractable bridge. 

At some point while counting the cracks in the paint on the opposite wall, Baekhyun falls asleep.

He's only shaken awake when someone trips over his legs and falls, landing next to him.

His mind still groggy with sleep, Baekhyun watches the stranger's lips move, as if he's muttering something really quickly. He furrows his eyebrows, wondering why he can't hear the words coming out of the stranger's mouth when he remembers that his earphones are still blasting music into his ears.

Embarrassed, he quickly yanks at the cord, causing both earphones to pop out at the same time. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Baekhyun says, retracting his legs immediately when he realizes what happened. Not that that would help, considering how the stranger is already sprawled all over the nasty dorm hallway floor. 

The boy pushes himself into a sitting position. His face is pale, and Baekhyun feels extremely bad for scaring him. "No, it's my bad. I have really bad astigmatism and my depth perception is atrocious, I can't judge distances properly-"

That voice. The one that sounds as smooth as melted butter. The very same one that Baekhyun committed to memory. There is no way he could mistake it for anyone else's. His jaw drops, and he gapes at the other guy in what must be a very unflattering way. This guy he just tripped is actually fucking _Communal Shower Guy?_

Baekhyun will admit (albeit slightly shamefully) that he's fantasized about this moment so many times over the past week. In most of his fantasies, however, Communal Shower Guy looked more like, well, a pop star, a real Michael Jackson-type face to match his rich vocals. He never expected his bathroom crush to look so... cute.

Communal Shower Guy is peering at him curiously. His eyes are incredibly round and his thick, soft-looking lips are slightly agape, mirroring Baekhyun's own facial expression. "Do I know you?" asks Communal Shower Guy in his panty-dropping voice.

"You're Commu-" Baekhyun sputters. Fortunately, he manages to catch the slip of tongue before he embarrassed himself. He recollects himself and offers Communal Shower Guy the most normal-looking smile he can muster. "No, I don't think you do. I'm Baekhyun, and I live here." _No shit._ "In this room, I mean."

"I'm Kyungsoo," says Communal Shower Guy. Baekhyun should probably stop calling him that in his head before he accidentally lets the silly nickname pass through his mouth again. "I live here too, but what are you doing on the floor?"

Baekhyun jerks his chin toward his door, where a tie is hanging on the doorknob. 

Kyungsoo nods in understanding. "I see."

Even though Kyungsoo's not singing, every word he speaks sends shivers down Baekhyun's spine. It makes his heart race and heat pool low in his gut. Determined to not let the conversation die here, Baekhyun desperately grasps at a conversation topic. "Are you going to take a shower?"

"No?" comes Kyungsoo's hesitant reply. Baekhyun wants to knock his head against the wall. Well, obviously, since Kyungsoo isn't wearing a bathrobe nor did he bring a shower caddy. Now Kyungsoo probably thinks Baekhyun is a perverted creep. 

In attempt to recover his image, Baekhyun says, "You don't talk much." He belatedly realizes that his words can come off condescending, even though that isn't what he means at all. "I'm sorry, that's really rude of me. I just think you have a really nice voice." Kyungsoo raises his brow at this. "People tell me I talk too much. I think you'd be doing the world a favor if you spoke more instead of me," he finishes lamely.

Kyungsoo's eyes fall on the book Baekhyun brought with him. "Literature major?" he asks. Before Baekhyun can answer, Kyungsoo stands and extends a hand to pull Baekhyun up as well. "Look, I don't really want to have a conversation on the floor. I just got off work and I'm a little tired. We could go back to my room, continue the conversation there, maybe watch a movie to pass time, if you want, until you can go back to your own room. Or you can choose to keep sitting on the floor."

Baekhyun's eyes widen. "No, I'd love to!" he says immediately. He trails after Kyungsoo as they walk to the latter's dorm room, trying to keep the conversation flowing. Kyungsoo humors him, giving timely responses but his replies are mostly short and curt. 

Times passes so quickly it feels like a blur. Before long, it's almost 1 a.m. and Baekhyun's dragging his feet back to his own room. This time, the tie is gone from the doorknob and his room is completely dark. He enters, changes into his pajamas and collapses onto his bed. His heart is so full, because he got to learn so much about Kyungsoo tonight, like how he's majoring in biology and plans to go to med school, his bleeding heart and his drive to help people in need. 

Baekhyun thinks it's so unfair that someone as awesome and beautiful and charming as Kyungsoo exists. Then, he remembers that _he_ gets to know Kyungsoo and listen to Kyungsoo's speak and look at Kyungsoo's sculpted eyebrows, so maybe, life isn't that unfair after all.

* * *

"You went to his room?"

"Yes, but it wasn't like we were alone, you know. His roommate was there too," Baekhyun replies. The moment Jongin returned to their shared room on Sunday evening, Baekhyun immediately began giving him a rundown of what happened the night he left. "We just watched some cheesy Netflix original together."

"Great. So now you actually know things about him, like his name, his major and even his poor taste in movies," says Jongin. "If he invited you to his room, it's got to mean something."

Baekhyun worries his bottom lip. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, he was pretty quiet that night. He didn't say a single word while we were watching the movie."

Jongin rolls his eyes. "That's what most people consider to be proper movie viewing etiquette, Baekhyun," he says. He unties his shoelaces and removes his shoes, revealing bare feet that slip into fluffy indoor slippers. "You're the only one who talks so much during movies, _even_ when the characters are speaking."

"Subtitles exist for a reason," Baekhyun defends himself, then sighs. "Also, his replies are so curt. At one point I was rambling about sushi for at least five minutes straight and he just replied 'yeah'. He also knows where I live, but he didn't come looking for me all weekend either. What the hell?"

"Yeah, it does sound like he's not interested." Jongin admits, looking at him with pity. "But, it's Valentine's Day this Friday."

Baekhyun pouts miserably. "You want the room again?" he asks, trying to curb his jealousy. It must be nice to be in a happy, steady relationship and where he doesn't have to be constantly questioning the other party's intentions. 

"No, it's not that. I'm going to her place this time," Jongin replies. He walks over to Baekhyun's bed. He picks up Baekhyun's pillow and drops it onto his face. "Come on. Maybe he likes you, maybe he doesn't. The only way you'll find out is if you stop feeling sorry for yourself and just ask him out. V Day is the perfect occasion for that."

Baekhyun presses his face into the pillow, whining. "If he says no?" he asks feebly, voice muffled.

"Dumbass. _If he says yes_ is what you should be thinking about," Jongin admonished. "Flowers? Chocolate? The collection of poems you wrote about him last week? Trust me, I've been doing this for years. It's not something you can just pull out of your ass."

At this, Baekhyun removes the pillow from his face. "So what do you have planned for this Friday?" he asks curiously. 

Jongin just smirks. "Nice try, lover boy, but you're not stealing my idea."

* * *

Their floor instead that big, but it can get pretty confusing when every room has maroon red door. After ten minutes of debating between two doors in the approximate location Kyungsoo led him to last Friday, Baekhyun finally musters up the courage to knock and prays that he got the right one.

Fortunately, it _is_ the right one, for it's Kyungsoo who opens the door.

"Oh, hello," Kyungsoo says. His voice betrays neither interest nor disinterest. "Baekhyun, why are you holding flowers?"

Baekhyun's heart is thudding in his chest and he's sure he's blushing like a tomato. Nevertheless, he goes straight to the point. "I was wondering, do you want to spend time together this Friday?"

Kyungsoo blinks. Surprise colors his cheeks. "What time?"

"6, 7 p.m. maybe? I have classes all day so, I was thinking, dinner?" Baekhyun stutters. It's funny how Baekhyun can write pages and pages of prose, but when he's speaking to Kyungsoo, he's constantly floundering for words. He clutches the roses more tightly in his hands.

Kyungsoo sucks in a breath. "Sorry, I'm busy," he says. Maybe Baekhyun's imagining it, but does Kyungsoo sound almost apologetic?

"Oh." Baekhyun lets out an awkward laugh and feels his heart explode into a billion shards. Kyungsoo's such a catch, Baekhyun should've known that he's taken. The fact that Baekhyun thought, even for a moment, that he had a chance with Kyungsoo is downright _mortifying_. His brain goes into red alert and he instantly tries to escape. "You know what's funny? I almost knocked on the wrong door at first. Uh, I'll just, go now. I'm going to visit my grandmother, she's sick and I got these flowers for her. I'll see you around, I guess."

Baekhyun's grandmother is actually completely fine and lives in a different state, but Kyungsoo doesn't need to know that. 

Kyungsoo reaches out to touch his shoulder before he can turn on his heel and leave. Maybe Baekhyun's awkward reaction gave it away, but it appears that Kyungsoo has realized what Baekhyun's initial intentions were. He chews his lips, seemingly debating what to say. "I hope your grandmother likes the roses," is what finally comes out of Kyungsoo's mouth. 

Kyungsoo's voice never fails to make his heart flutter, even when that heart feels like it was just stomped on and run over by a truck. Baekhyun's smile is crooked when he says, "Thanks, they're her favorite."

* * *

Firstly, the flowers go into the trash.

Next, he cancels the dinner reservation. The restaurant he picked isn't that fancy anyway, because it was the only place he could get a table at on such short notice. In a way, Baekhyun's glad that he won't be embarrassing himself further by bring Kyungsoo to a place like that.

The chocolates can't be returned, however, so he decides to keep them for himself. Baekhyun has the room to himself for the weekend again, so when Friday comes, he orders a large pepperoni pizza for himself and a large Coke. When he finishes those, he pulls the tail of the ribbon tied around the heart-shaped box. The bow unravels.

It's dark chocolate. Baekhyun doesn't like dark chocolate, but he bought them because Kyungsoo once mentioned in passing that they're the only kind of chocolate he eats. Baekhyun puts on Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 film. Jane Austen has always been his comfort author when it comes to classics. The movie isn't half as good as the book, but Baekhyun's feeling too sorry for himself to care.

When Elizabeth and Mr Darcy finally confess their attraction to each other, the dark chocolate tastes even more bitter in Baekhyun's mouth.

It's some time before midnight that he hears a knock on his door. Thinking it's the RA or something, Baekhyun pulls himself up and goes to answer the door.

"Yixing, what-" Except it's not the RA, Yixing. It's Kyungsoo. He's dressed casually, but his hair is a little different, looking as if it's been gelled. _He's not dressed to impress, which means it must be a long-term relationship, but he's well-styled enough so it must've been a date,_ Baekhyun remarks resentfully. He tries not to feel jealous of Kyungsoo's mysterious, faceless partner, especially since Kyungsoo isn't really Baekhyun's anyone, but it's proving difficult.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo says with an air of determination. He thrusts something into Baekhyun's hands. It's a paper bag from Daiso.

Ah, a pity gift. Baekhyun forces a smile. "Thank you, but I didn't get you anything." 

It's half the truth, at least. Kyungsoo shakes his head, probably to say he doesn't care about receiving gifts from Baekhyun. "Aren't you going to open it?" 

"No, I'm pretty tired. Maybe tomorrow," Baekhyun says. He doesn't want to do it in front of Kyungsoo, because the gift clearly means more to him than it does to Kyungsoo. He puts a hand on the side of his door, edging it shut. "Sorry, I was in the middle of something important. Is there anything else?"

Baekhyun realizes that Kyungsoo's staring at his lips. He self-consciously lifts his hand to wipe the edges, and is mortified to find the dark chocolate from before on the corners of his mouth.

Kyungsoo then digs into his pockets and pulls out a couple of foil-covered balls, pressing them into Baekhyun's palm. They're supposed to be Hershey's Kisses, he guesses, but they're kind of misshapen now. "It's still pretty cold outside, so I kept them in my jeans," Kyungsoo explains.

Baekhyun doesn't even know what that means. "Um, thanks," he says, closing the door slowly. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyungsoo. I really appreciate the gift."

Naturally, Baekhyun's previous statement about being tired was a lie, because he immediately tips the Daiso paper bag upside down and pours its contents onto his bed. To his disappointment, Baekhyun only finds a collection of... trinkets, for the lack of a better word. There's a pair of rattlesnake magnets, strawberry-flavored lip balm, an egg-shaped kitchen timer and a key chain of a wooden duck. The receipt for the purchase is also in the bag, which Baekhyun thinks is kind of douchey to leave in a gift bag, even if the prices have been scrawled out with a black marker. He turns the piece of paper to its back and sees the number 42 written on the back.

Baekhyun furrows his brows in confusion. This so-called gift feels more like things he picked up at a yard sale, but if Kyungsoo took the time and spent the money to bring these to him, they must mean something. Baekhyun fingers the receipt, scrutinizing the number 42. The number is meaningless to him, unless... 

Unless it's meant to be a code. Fourty-two, four-two. Two words, perhaps? Four letters and two letters. Baekhyun thinks of all the common phrases people tell each other all the time. _Thank you, love you, I'm sorry_ don't fit, neither does _hate you._ Baekhyun concentrates on replaying their previous interactions, which he had replayed countless times before he got rejected, and something jumps out at him. He remembers telling Kyungsoo that he talks too much. Two words, four and two letters respectively... _shut up?_

That's when Baekhyun realizes that Kyungsoo's bleeding heart must've been a total farce, because he's actually a cruel asshole who would use the guise of a Valentine's Day gift to taunt him right after rejecting him.

The wooden duck is Kyungsoo telling him that he's boring and a quack.

The kitchen timer means he's a waste of Kyungsoo's time.

The strawberry lip balm... Well, Baekhyun doesn't know what that one means yet, but it's probably a dig at how unkissable he thinks his lips are.

The magnets? Baekhyun remembers playing with them a lot as a child. They're a children's plaything, and Kyungsoo is just toying with him.

The melted chocolate is just the cherry-on-top of the whole thing, and suddenly, Baekhyun is seeing red.

He spitefully shoves everything back into the paper bag. He flings open his door and stalks down the hallway in his slippers and pajamas. He bangs on Kyungsoo's door, and Kyungsoo opens it so swiftly that it catches Baekhyun by surprise. Had he been waiting by the door?

"Baekhyun," Kyungsoo gasps. "I-"

"Oh, shut up," Baekhyun says derisively. He fishes into the bag for the receipt that slams it into Kyungsoo's chest. He can feel the quick thumping of Kyungsoo's heart, but it's probably from the shock of Baekhyun coming back to give him a piece of his mind. "Forty-two, huh? Think I wouldn't figure out what it means?"

Kyungsoo opens his mouth, closes it. He looks a little puzzled, maybe a little guilty. "What? Baekhyun, I-" he even has the gall to sound frustrated. "That's my dorm room number."

Baekhyun pauses. He looks at the door, and sure enough, the number 42 is written on the door. He crumples the receipt and throws it at Kyungsoo's feet. "Okay, but I figured out the meanings behind the rest, too," Baekhyun says hotly. This time, his pulls out the Kisses. "Real nice."

Kyungsoo doesn't answer. He forcefully yanks Baekhyun by the arm and pulls him into his room. "I think there's been a misunderstanding," Kyungsoo says calmly. 

"I'm leaving," Baekhyun says. "And if you try to stop me, I'm reporting you to Yixing." He flings the bag back at Kyungsoo, who catches it neatly. "You can have this back."

"Baekhyun, please hear me out," Kyungsoo says pleadingly. There's clear emotion in his voice, no longer monotonous like before. "I won't stop you, but _please."_

Baekhyun puts up his hand. _Five minutes._

Kyungsoo seems to understand. He takes a step closer and shows him the foil-covered chocolates. "See? I was worried they wouldn't melt by time I got here, so I kept them in my pockets to warm them up."

"You're messed up."

" _No,_ " Kyungsoo says emphatically, sounding stressed. "Don't you get it? You make me melt!"

Baekhyun blinks rapidly. 

"I wrote my room number down," Kyungsoo continues, "because you said you almost went to the wrong room, and I didn't want you to ever make that mistake." He pulls out the rest of the trinkets. "I thought the magnets would be the most obvious one, I was so hesitant to put them in at first. _I'm attracted to you._ I got you lip balm because when I first met you, on the hallway floor last week, I couldn't help but notice how chapped your lips were, but I still wanted to kiss them. The kitchen timer means I want to spend more time with you. I think you get it by now." He takes a deep breath. "I like you, Baekhyun, and I don't even know your last name."

It's almost like a reflex, the chills that go down Baekhyun's spine whenever Kyungsoo speaks. He takes some time to process it, feeling so many mixed emotions at once. All of this is just absurd and Baekhyun's still reeling in disbelief. "Wait," he says slowly, "what about the wooden duck?"

"It's a goose, actually," Kyungsoo says. "Wild geese mate for life."

"Um," is all Baekhyun can say. He tries to say more and can only come up with "Wow."

Kyungsoo looks defeated. "I'm really sorry, Baekhyun," he says solemnly. "I've said everything I wanted to say. I'm sorry for misreading the signs, I just thought you liked me back too, but apparently not." He chuckles humorlessly. "You can leave if you want."

Baekhyun's anger dissipates and is mostly replaced by sheer bewilderment. "I have one question. Why the _fuck_ would you do this?"

Kyungsoo frowns. "I just told you I liked you?"

"Not that. I mean," Baekhyun gestures wildly at the assortment of odd junk that apparently have sentimental meaning in Kyungsoo's hands, " _this_."

"You're a literature major," Kyungsoo says, in the same tone Baekhyun himself says it. Like it's supposed to the obvious answer. "The way we met: I literally fell for you. It's got to be, what are those things called, metaphors, right? These," he says, clutching the items in his hand, "are metaphors."

Baekhyun can't help it, but he bursts into laughter. Kyungsoo looks a little hurt, so Baekhyun hurriedly says, "Kyungsoo, those aren't metaphors, they're clichés. And this isn't literature! I read books. Words, not things. That's not part of my skill set. If you just- _told_ me you liked me, our first Valentine's Day would be going a whole lot differently."

Kyungsoo approaches Baekhyun with tentative steps. "I honestly thought I was being pretty obvious about everything."

"No, you really weren't," Baekhyun deadpans. "You sounded bored out of your mind every time I tried to talk to you, and you said you had plans on Valentine's Day. What was I supposed to think?"

"I'm sorry," Kyungsoo says for like the billionth time today. "I don't know if you know this, but I have a part-time job. At Daiso, that's where I got the idea for all of this. I work the night shift every weekend, that's why I said I was busy all night, and why I come home so late all the time. I'm a cashier, and people come up to me all the time trying to strike up conversation when I'm just trying to do my job. It's annoying so I just give them really short answers to make them go away. Sometimes, I accidentally bring that part of me back home. That's my bad."

Yeah, this is the oddest Valentine's Day Baekhyun's ever had, but in a way, it's also the sweetest.

"I need a hug," Baekhyun announces.

Kyungsoo dutifully closes the gap between them and envelops him in his arms. He's warm, solid and literally feels like he just descended from heaven. "I like you, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo says, his voice tickling Baekhyun's ear.

"Your voice is so sexy," Baekhyun breathes, pulling away reluctantly. "Give me that."

Baekhyun takes the gift bag and leads Kyungsoo to the latter's bed, where they sat together watching that awfully boring movie exactly one week ago. He unscrews the lid of the lip balm. He squeezes a liberal amount onto his finger and rubs them onto his lips. "You know, I was really offended when you gave me this," he says jokingly. It's comfortable enough between them now to be cracking jokes. "I thought you didn't like my lips."

Kyungsoo's eyes trail the movement of his finger, back and forth over his bottom lip, then the top. "They're very chapped. I was worried about them, and I only worry about lips I like."

"Yeah, me too," Baekhyun says, eyes filled with mirth. He coats his finger with more lip balm but this time, he smears them all over Kyungsoo's mouth. 

Very carefully, he leans in, and gently presses his mouth to Kyungsoo's. It's too slippery, but it doesn't feel any less good.

When they break apart, Baekhyun fishes out the pair of rattlesnake magnets, stuck to each other strongly. He keeps one in his hand and puts the other in Kyungsoo's. Almost theatrically, he lets his hand inch closer, as if being drawn by a powerful force, then allows both their hands to touch. 

The magnets reunite, making the signature rattlesnake sound as it smacks together. Kyungsoo curls his fingers over Baekhyun's, keeping the magnets enclosed between both their palms.

"A cliché," says Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun gives him a proud grin. "I'm a literature major, am I not?"

* * *

Fortunately, Kyungsoo's roommate isn't in this weekend, so they get to have their very first sleepover.

Lying side-by-side on the small mattress, Baekhyun is mulling over something Kyungsoo said.

"You like me even though you still don't know my last name?"

"I liked you the moment I saw you," Kyungsoo promises. "You're very pretty."

Baekhyun flutters his eyelashes. It's dark, and Kyungsoo probably can't see it anyway, but Baekhyun's flair for the dramatic is a force that cannot be reckoned with.

"Not to make this a competition, but I liked you before I even knew your name, Communal Shower Guy."

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. this is my first time posting fic under this pseud. i used to post under nanase!  
> 2\. i think my new MO is writing fic once every two years and then disappearing  
> 3\. this fic was written entirely in one sitting so i apologize for any mistakes, but i really just wanted to post something after such a long writing hiatus  
> 4\. [twitter](http://twitter.com/selfportraitjpg), if you want to be friends. i follow everyone back  
> 5\. if you read the whole thing, thank you so much!


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